Our Nauvoo Trip

We took a little road trip back east back in July that was a lot of fun. There were some gorgeous sunsets on the way, and we especially enjoyed driving through the mountains of Colorado.



When we first arrived in Nauvoo, we went to the main visitor's center where they had a beautiful art exhibit on display. The artwork told the story of the pioneer's exodus to the Salt Lake Valley, particularly focusing on the Martin & Willie Handcart companies. Each piece of work also had a story to go along with it told by a little plaque next to it. This piece really stuck out to me because of the story that goes with it.

Here's what it said: "The story of Joseph and James Kirkwood has been passed down in stories of the handcart trek. Margaret Campbell Kirkwood brought her four sons to America from Scotland and joined the Willie Company. One son was disabled and rode in the handcart. Another son helped pull the cart. James, age 11, cared for his brother Joseph Smith Kirkwood, age 5. On the trail the weather worsened near Rocky Ridge. Joseph was unable to walk 15 miles to the next camp at Rock Creek Hollow, so James carried him. They fell behind the group, but James never gave up. When the boys finally reached the camp, their mother was waiting for them. James sat Joseph down and then collapsed and died. He was buried in a common grave with 12 others. Margaret and her other three sons survived and reached the Salt Lake Valley on November 9, 1856." This touched my heart because of how it displays the courage, faith and familial love of this young boy who carried his brother. The pioneers are such a great example to me and I find myself questioning myself often, "do I have the faith and love of the pioneers to follow in their footsteps of giving up everything I have, even my life, to reach Zion?"


This is typical of what happened often while we were in Nauvoo... John and I often found ourselves waiting and waiting for Russell because he would become so engrossed in taking pictures. He had the time of his life. We finally convinced him to leave the visitor's center because he can take pictures of the Christus statue back home!

Next we went out into the Women's Garden that is outside the visitor's center. It is filled with statues of women at different stages in their home and family life. The first statue at the head is of Joseph and Emma. It is a beautiful garden. Funny story... the sprinklers were on in the garden about halfway down its length and they spread across the entire walkway. I wanted to walk to the other end of the garden, but saw no alternative other than walking through those sprinklers! So I decided I would just hurry through them as quickly as I could. John had already gone through them and was watching me gear up to run. Well, the walkway, paved in bricks, is very slippery when wet, and I was wearing crocs... add wet brick plus plastic and you get Lindsay slipping straight down on her bum in the wetness! I laughed and got up quickly and of course John is laughing really hard. We were so close to getting the episode on video camera too, but had just turned off the camera to walk through the sprinklers! John said my fall was surprisingly graceful, which, I guess if you're receiving a compliment on a fall, that would be the highest one! The funniest thing was that Russell was right next to me, but focusing so hard himself on making it past the sprinklers that he didn't even see me fall or know what John and I were laughing about. I can't believe he totally missed that one!

Our next stop that first day was to the Family Living Center which is a big open building with six different stations in it where missionaries demonstrate how various things were done back in the time of the pioneers. We definitely have much to be grateful for our modern conveniences today! My challenge today seems to be HOW to spend all the time that I have, where back then, all their time had to be spent doing chores and tasks that were indispensable to survival and industry. The first station talked about how they made clothing and material from growing the plants to harvesting to "carding" to spinning. And even after their clothing was made and worn through, they used the material again to weave into rugs. And after the rug was worn through, they used the material again for the wicks of their candles. They wasted nothing!

Here is Russell "carding." He's pulling the wool through the metal pins attached to the wood. This process separates the fibers and elongates them.

The next station is bread making. We learned about the brick oven stoves that they would use to bake the bread and got to taste a sample of some bread. The elders start a fire early every morning for the oven and the sisters bake bread every day there. It was delicious!

Our next stop was to learn about candlemaking. The candles were made of lard. They had the young girls plait the threads of material from old rugs which they would use for the wicks. The young children would also collect rocks which they would use to tie to the end of the wick as a weight for when they were dipped. They would dip a row of candles at a time and had to let each layer dry in between dipping. When the candle was finished they would cut the rock off the end and reuse both the lard and the rock for the next time. It was an all day process, and a necessary one for if they didn't have candles, they didn't have light!

Next we visited the looms to see the way they would weave rugs. We really enjoyed seeing the beautiful handicraft of those who weaved. And I am proud to be able to say that my own mother still weaves rugs from strips of material in a braided fashion. I have one that she made for me and it was cool to see that style on display with the other kinds of rugs that were made at that time in the past.

Then came the rope making. This is one of John's favorites. Russell and John got to assist in making a rope that we were able to take home with us. It's really cool to watch how it is made.

Our last stop was learning about "coopering," or barrel making. This one is John's favorite because it is working with wood. If I remember correctly, it took an apprentice 6 years to learn the cooper's trade. It's quite the skill!


After the Family Living Center, we stopped by the Scovil Bakery and learned about the life of Lucius Scovil, the baker and got to see his bakery and taste some yummy gingerbread cookies. We walked on down the street and came to an area with a display called Pioneer Pastimes where they had many different games and activities that were common for children to play at that time. I had never visited this part of Nauvoo before and I really enjoyed it. I knew my mom would have loved it too. She loves all those old timey games. We played there for quite a while, with our favorite game being "Graces." In the picture you can see me trying to figure out how to work this little wooden acrobat. I go from not getting it at all to getting it and then to thoroughly enjoying it. (thanks John for documenting this experience for me.) lol! :)

I loved walking around Nauvoo. The feeling there is so awesome! It's a joyful place to me. And I really loved the traveling brass band that went up and down the streets playing music for us.

That first day we also visited the home and shop of the gunsmith, Jonathan Browning, which I believe was one of Russell's favorite stops, and also the Stoddard home with his adjoining tin shop.
After going shopping for some food and eating dinner, we went to the pageant grounds where they had numerous activities of all sorts going on. None of us participated in any of them because either the lines were too long or the boys were too shy! But we did enjoy walking around and watching all the goings on. There was log sawing contests, tug of war, horseshoes, sack races, graces, handcart rides, a puppet show for children, stick pulling contests and, my favorite, dancing! Which, I almost convinced John to get up and dance with me, but he didn't. *sigh* Maybe someday my dream will come true of dancing with my husband... :) The one booth that we did participate in was really cool. There were computers hooked up to the internet where they used a website called nauvoopageantcousins.org where you can give your parents and grandparent's names and it will do a search to show you how you are related to the historic figures that play in the pageant. The relations, if any, are very very distant cousins, but it is still neat to see the connections. Russell didn't quite understand how distant the relations were, so it was truly a treat to see how amazed he was when he saw he was related to, among others, Heber C. Kimball, Emma Hale, Eliza R. Snow, Parley P. Pratt, Brigham Young and especially to Joseph and Hyrum Smith who turn out to be our 8th cousin 6 times removed! lol! There was a small parade just before the pageant started that was led by bagpipers. I love to hear the bagpipes playing! And then we got to watch the pageant. It was really cool because the temple was in the background of the stage. The pageant was the best one I've ever seen and we thoroughly enjoyed it.
The next morning we got up early and went down to Parley Street where they had a really neat presentation. They had a group of bagpipers who played to begin with and then we waited in line to walk down Parley Street in small groups where we would stop and listen to stories of some of the Saints who left Nauvoo that were enacted out by members of the pageant cast. It was a very sweet and stirring experience. Parley Street ends at the Mississippi River, where the Saints took ferries across to the other side to begin their journey. There was a man standing by the river dressed from that time who was playing his guitar and singing a beautiful song he had written about the saints leaving Nauvoo.


There is a statue at the end of Parley street as well, nearby a pioneer memorial with all the names of the saints who did not make it to the Salt Lake valley. The statue is of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young and titled Eyes Westward "To Your Tents O Israel." Here is the caption: "On the anniversary of the 200th year celebration of the birth of the Prophet Joseph Smith, and the 175th anniversary of the establishment of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, this monument of His prophets Joseph Smith and Brigham Young has been erected. In Nauvoo the saints heard the ancient rallying cry, "To your tents, O Israel." In sublime faith and trust, such as history scarcely records, they obeyed, ready to follow their leader where ever he might direct their pilgrim feet. The scenes of wagons, families and livestock crowding to leave their city would be impossible to adequately describe and unless you were there, impossible to fully comprehend the hardships those sweet early saints endured. The first wagon left Nauvoo on February 4, 1846. This early departure, brought on by increased mobocracy subjected them to gale-force winds, torrential rain, snow, subfreezing temperatures and axle-deep mud. Most of the Saints were poorly prepared for this epic journey. Many were city dwellers from the eastern United States and England, skilled in many crafts, but unaccustomed to the feeding and harnessing of horses, oxen and mules, driving wagons and herding livestock. Through much work, sacrifice and prayer and under the inspiration of Heaven and their inspired leaders, these faithful Saints completed their journey west and arrived in the Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847. To those early pioneers whom we love, honor and cherish; may your names be forever remembered."
There was a bench next to the statue where John and I sat and talked for quite a while while Russell sat on a bench surrounded by flowers and greenery writing in his journal (I think.) It was such a beautiful morning and we enjoyed the time that we were able to spend together quietly talking. When we finally decided it was time for lunch we told Russ we would go get the car and come back to pick him up. The view of Russell from where we told him that was quite humorous to me, so I snapped a picture... just his little head sticking up from all that greenery!

On our way walking back up Parley Street, John and I got distracted with some oxen. There was a spot where people could take pictures with the oxen and also experience what it felt like to ride in an oxen pulled wagon. We took the opportunity and quite enjoyed it, except when, sitting in the wagon with the view of the oxen bums, I saw one's hole get quite large and I knew what was coming! I nudged John and both of us giggled to each other as we peeked a glance every now and then, of watching the ox poop. It was quite disgusting.

Our tiredness from traveling finally caught up to us after we ate lunch and we took naps in our hotel room and took the rest of the evening easy. John and I went on a date to a nearby town where we saw Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. On Sunday morning we went to Sacrament meeting in the morning and then back home for something to eat. Then we went out and visited the brickyard, where Russell was able to get a Nauvoo brick of his own.

Russell got overwhelmed and stressed out afterwards and wanted to take a break looking for rocks (I don't get it, but okay...) so we drove around a few places and let him get out and wander around on his own, taking pictures, gathering rocks, talking to himself and getting lots of "really great ideas," I'm sure! John and I stayed in the car and talked some more. When Russ finally felt ready to go again we went and visited some more sites before dinner. We made it to the Brigham Young home, the shoemaker's shop, the blacksmith shop, the seventies hall (which was used as a missionary training center), the post office and general store, John Taylor's home and the printing office.

We then went back to our room to get something to eat for dinner and then out for a little scenic drive around Nauvoo. Afterwards we parked at the temple visitor's center where they have an auditorium showing a special presentation that evening that we went to see. John and I really enjoyed it. It was a musical presentation by the pageant cast called, Our Story Goes On. It told the story of family at it's different stages and used lots of popular Broadway and musical songs to do so. Russell seemed to be disappointed with it, not feeling it was appropriate for the Sabbath, and ended up leaving halfway through. He said he was going to go walk around the temple but when we tried to find him afterwards at the temple we couldn't find him. He finally called us and said that he had only made it out to the foyer, where he ended up talking to some missionaries and listening to the rest of the presentation. He later admitted that he really did enjoy the presentation and felt bad that he had left. I've seen Russell struggle often with this dichotomy of emotions and it is a source of stress for him. I'm not really sure what causes it, but I have noticed he has been doing a lot better at handling his emotions lately and I see the negative emotions winning out less and less.

Well, on Monday morning was when John and I woke up early and went running around Nauvoo. We ran six miles before the sky opened up and poured on us and we went back to our hotel room. We changed into our swimsuits and went swimming and in the hot tub to relax, which was really nice. After getting back to our room and showering we went to the visitor's center again where we went on a scenic horse drawn wagon ride around Nauvoo. John and I were happy to do anything that involved sitting for a long time because we were really tired from running. After that ride, Russell wanted to take pictures out in a park so he stayed outside while John and I went into the visitor's center. Since all we cared about was sitting down, we decided to go into the theater room and we watched the showing of Joseph Smith: Prophet of the Restoration. We had seen the movie before, but it was particularly touching to our hearts to watch it there in Nauvoo. Russell joined us for the last bit of the movie and then we went out to see a few more sites. We visited the Brigham Young home, the Cultural Hall and then the graves of the Smith family. On the second floor in the Cultural Hall is a beautiful display of antiqued quilts and on the wall is a piece of artwork, common to the time period, that is made of human hair. I have always been fascinated by this kind of art and think it is amazingly beautiful!

We were up early on Tuesday morning to get packed and ready to leave Nauvoo. We stopped by the temple to walk around the grounds and take some pictures.

There is a statue of Joseph and Hyrum on horses just across the street from the temple that I love. It is a memorial of when they were leaving to Carthage and how they rode past the temple and overlooked the city of Nauvoo one last time. Joseph felt intuitively that they would not be returning to this beautiful city again.

And just as they said goodbye to Nauvoo and went on to Carthage, so did we. Carthage was our next stop where we visited the jail and saw where Joseph and Hyrum were martyred. The Spirit there at Carthage is always so special to me. It is the first place that I can recall feeling the Spirit for myself and what I feel was the beginnings of the development of my own testimony back when I was 12 years old.

After visiting Carthage we drove quickly on. We were headed back to Utah, but planned to stop by and visit Adam-ondi-Ahman and Liberty Jail in Missouri on our way back. It was the first time I had been to either. Adam-ondi-Ahman was beautiful and quiet, peaceful farmland.

Liberty Jail was an especially neat place to visit. The original jail sits inside a rotunda at a visitor's center. It is cut open so that one can see the inside of the walls of the jail. This church history site is John's favorite.

It was at Liberty Jail where the Prophet received the revelations that make up D&C 121-123. The prophet was in this jail while the members of the church were enduring extreme persecutions and he languished, "Oh God, where art thou?" He wanted to know how long the Lord would permit the saints to endure such trials. The Lord's answer was, "My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment. And then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes." This must have brought comfort to Joseph's heart at this time and it certainly brings comfort to mine. I know when times are hard that God is aware of my struggles and my adversities too will be but a small moment. I feel that the purpose of my life is to do the Lord's work and to come unto Christ in all things. I feel that if I can faithfully endure all things, like these early Saints did, that I will gain exaltation in the kingdom of heaven. I do believe the Lord has a plan for me and that I can be forgiven of my sins. I do believe that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that He lives and will love me to the end. I am thankful for the opportunity that we had to go on this trip to Nauvoo. It helped to strengthen my faith and testimony and my resolve to come unto Christ and to follow Him in all things. Nauvoo is an amazing experience and one that I highly recommend to anyone who gets the chance to go!